Experiential Education
by Thalius
Summary: Spartans have some interesting gaps in their education, much to Veta's delight.


"I didn't realise," came a rumble, more vibration than actual sound. With her ear pressed so close to his body, it made it difficult to hear him clearly, but she had no intention of moving.

"What's that?" she asked. The loose fist she'd made of his shirt's collar was still hanging there, her knuckles resting against his clavicle. His own hand was a tentative warmth on her bicep. The angle was off, and there was probably a much more comfortable way to situate themselves on the bench. She didn't move, though, too invested in soaking up his warmth, and Fred seemed content right where he was.

He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke, she could hear a wry note in his voice. "You're going to laugh at me."

"Maybe," she replied. "But you can tell me anyway."

"I thought people only kissed lying down," he said after a pause, the rumbling in his chest far quieter than before.

Now she _did_ pull her head up to look at him, and Veta bit her bottom lip to keep from doing exactly as he'd said she would. She'd never had much trouble keeping a good bitch face before, but now it was all it took not to burst into laughter.

A snort did escape her though, and Fred looked off into the park, chagrined. "I knew it," he muttered.

"Really?" She sat up properly, using his leg as a brace to shove up from his side. The cool, recycled air invaded the space she'd made, making her shiver. "You haven't seen people kissing standing up? Ever?"

"I have," he replied, turning to lean against the bench's armrest. "I've seen couples shipping out and saying their goodbyes, but they get it over with quickly. Not like—not like this," he said, indicating the two of them.

"Oh, like making out?"

"Is that what you call it?"

"Oh my god." She turned and pulled her legs up on the bench, folding her arms around them. His ears were a wonderful shade of pink, and he wouldn't meet her eyes. Lopis grabbed the hand resting on the back of the bench, a thrill running through her that she could just do that now. It caught his attention, and he watched her hold his massive hand in her two far smaller ones.

"Oh my god," he repeated back at her, not really a question. A single dark brow arched, and her grin grew wider, though she wasn't sure how.

"I'm just," she began, searching for words. "Amazed. You're so innocent."

"Innocent?" His smile crept back, and his cheeks went rosy.

"What did you um, learn exactly? During training?"

"About?"

"Sex and all of that."

"I know what sex is," he said somewhat indignantly, shaking his head. "This isn't sex."

"No, but it can lead to…." She trailed off, realising that maybe he _didn't_ know. "Oh my god."

He sighed and sat back. "Shouldn't have said anything."

"No, no." She tugged at his hand, forcing him to look at her. "I'm not—I'm not making fun of you. I promise. I'm just… surprised. I'm not usually the sex expert in a crowd," she added, and saw his shoulders relax a little. "It's a… novel experience for me."

"For me, too," he said, and she saw his eyes dart down briefly to her lips, a microscopic fracture in his concentration that she would have missed if she weren't so close to him.

"You enjoyed it, though?" she asked, and leaned toward him. He mirrored her movements immediately, and she felt his breath on her face when he answered.

"Yes," he replied, so she kissed him again, leaning over her own legs in an even more awkward position. Fred's significant height mitigated a lot of the maneuvering, and when she used his shirt collar as a handhold again, he leaned over her further.

Veta sat up on her knees anyway, now almost his height sitting down, and let her other hand grab at the base of his head. The neural implant port situated there was cold against her fingers, and his skin was hot in comparison. Or maybe all of him was just really warm; he was flushed, and his breathing was harsher than usual. The open honesty of his body's response sent a shudder through her. Thinking she was cold, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

She knelt there kissing him on the bench for a good while, safely tucked away in a corner of _Infinity's _atrium, far from the ruck trails the officers usually ran. She wondered if maybe this was its intention, a tiny place for lovers in a massive ship where privacy was the highest premium. The thought made her giddy.

When she ran out of breath entirely, she forced herself to pull back. Fred's nose pressed into her cheek as he tried to follow her, then let out a long, shuddering breath of his own.

"We can lie down if you want," she whispered between breaths, and to her delight, he laughed. His voice sounded so much deeper this close together.

"If you want," he repeated. He leaned into her again, as if he couldn't help himself, and she gave him a long, slow kiss before moving. Her hand trailed down his ribs, settling on his waist. So much of him she could suddenly touch, have access to, and suddenly so much he could touch of her.

She smiled as she stood up, pulling him with her. He went willingly, eagerly even, as unable as she was to let too much space between them. She felt laughter bubble up in her chest and found it difficult to keep it under wraps again. Veta bit her lip as she pulled them behind the bench and sat down in the grass beside some old, thick pines. The grass was soft and carefully manicured, and it was a wonderful luxury this deep in space.

Fred laid back in the grass next to her, their hands still linked together between them. It was the night shift, and so instead of an artificial atmospheric filter on the windows, what they saw were the open stars above them. If she ignored the thick steel reinforcements that broke up each of the glass panes, it almost felt like a night in a park somewhere.

"So," she continued, "what _did_ you learn? About all this," she added, gesturing between them, her voice a whisper. "I'm curious."

He shrugged, the grass rustling with the movement. "Sex is fun, people make babies by doing it, that kind of thing. Never paid much attention to it. Saw lots of animals do it as a kid," he added, smiling faintly. "Kelly called them two-for-one meals."

That brought up a dozen more questions, but she let them be. She knew better than to pry; the more she asked, the less she'd understand. And she hadn't come out here late at night to poke at his ghosts. "It's a bit more complicated than that," she finally said amusedly.

"So I figured." His head turned as he looked at her. "You're not propositioning me, are you, Inspector?"

She laughed. "You know what _that_ means, but not that people kiss standing up?"

"Marines don't usually talk about kissing," he replied. "Hear a lot more of the heavy stuff."

She rolled onto an elbow and grinned down at him. "No, Fred, I'm not propositioning you."

"Good," he said, then leaned up to kiss her again. His initiative surprised and delighted her, and she fell back to the ground and sidled up alongside his body. Her fingers twined up into his short hair, and she felt more than heard his groan.

"So good," he whispered, barely audible. His arm, like a wall of heat against her back, pulled her in close and tight. She deepened their kiss, pressing her mouth hard into his. Despite her earlier teasing, she was stretching the limits of her own knowledge on the subject. But her inexperience didn't seem to be of any more concern for Fred than his was for her. He made a noise deep in his throat when she tested her tongue against his lip, and her leg creeped up around his thigh of its own accord. His arm tightened around her, his whole body leaning into the kiss. She tested further with her tongue and found out that he was still very much a quick learner. It took only a moment for him to begin mimicking her own movements, and then it was her turn to groan into his mouth.

His breathing was just as erratic as her's, and their hands were now groping more than holding onto whatever part of them they could find purchase on. She had a fistful of his shirt between his shoulder blades, her other hand tucked between them and pressed into his cheek. Fred, much larger and bulkier by far, had a more difficult time of it lying on his side, and solved that problem by rolling up above her.

With an arm braced on either side of her head, she was encased in his body heat and quickly felt sweat break across her forehead. He rocked into her and she rolled with the motion of his body as they kissed, now set at a feverish tempo. The smell and taste and touch of him was almost overwhelming, but it was good. There was no panicked flutter in her chest, no walls closing in. Just him and his mouth and the gentle touch of his fingers brushing her temples. She cupped his face as a lump formed in her throat, and when Fred pulled away, it was just enough to catch his breath. She gripped his shoulders, let his solid warmth anchor her, and felt his forehead press into hers as they exchanged breath. She could taste him in her mouth, pleasant and full. It was an extension of how his body smelled, but she'd never noticed it until now.

"Got a bit carried away," he panted. His heart beat heavily against her own ribs, his breath coming out in sharp waves. She curled into him, pressing her face into his shoulder.

"S'okay," she said back. "I did, too."

He fell back beside her. Her grip on him hadn't loosened, so she rolled with him, and landed half on top of him. The grass was more comfortable, but he was certainly the more preferable option.

She felt his hand on her back, resting comfortably on her skin under her sweater. Her head fell against his shoulder and she let it stay there while she caught the rest of her breath. Her head was swimming a little, whether from the lack of oxygen or the kissing she wasn't totally sure. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, her body thrummed, and she did her best to swallow down the tears that had come on so suddenly.

Fred shifted beneath her while she calmed herself and lifted a hand over her head. She looked up and saw him squinting at his wrist. He shook his head and closed his comm.

"Everything good?"

"Just Kelly being nosy," he said, and let his arm fall back—this time around her waist, keeping her securely on top of him. For how hard the Spartans were cut, he was surprisingly soft to lay on.

"How long do you have?" she asked, and she could hear her voice return to its natural sharp edge. She hadn't realised how softly they'd been speaking.

"Few hours yet," he whispered, sobering up a little.

"And you need to sleep for some of those."

"Suppose I do," he replied dryly. "Don't want to go just yet, though."

"I don't either."

There was a lull, but the silence was a contented one. She let her fingers run up and down one of his arms, felt the edges and pocks and valleys of his skin. Goosebumps flared along his bicep, and she sank with his chest as he let out a deep breath. His own hand on her back ran up and down her spine, sending pleasant tingles all along it.

Eventually she heard his breath even out. She'd become sleepy, too, and sat up when his breathing changed. His eyes were closed, but his hand was still moving lazily on her back, so he wasn't completely asleep.

"Fred," she whispered, touching his face. His eyelids rose, barely halfway, and his eyes were dark beneath black lashes.

"I'm awake," he replied.

"We can't fall asleep here."

"I know," he said, more alert—and more serious. His hand withdrew from her sweater.

Veta kissed his arm where she'd drawn circles with her fingers, then sat up and pushed her hair away from her face. "This is what shore leave is for, you know," she said with a grin. "Imagine doing this but for like, three days. And you can sleep wherever you want."

He sat up, still very much crowding her. "I'll have to look into it, then."

She kissed him again, because she knew they'd have to get up and go back to their own quarters soon. It was languid, gentle and soft and like the first time she'd kissed him.

Veta nudged her nose with his and sighed. "We should head back."

He nodded against her, and when he spoke, his voice was thick with resignation. "Okay."

Fred certainly didn't need help standing up, but she still offered her hand and he took it gladly. When he rose up beside her, she tugged him back down to her for a final, parting kiss, and he met her lips with an intensity that would have taken her aback if she hadn't been feeling the exact same. He kissed her like he'd never be able to do it again, holding her so tightly to him that it was difficult to breathe.

They broke, finally and too soon, and she held onto him as she wiped her mouth and caught her breath for the last time. "You can go first, um," she said unsteadily. "Be better if we leave separately."

He nodded, saying nothing. Fred made a halfhearted step towards the edge of the trees, but his hand was still on her arm. She grabbed his wrist, and he looked at her.

"Fred," she said with as much steel as she could muster. "We can do this again. I'm still here for a few days yet." She didn't add that they probably wouldn't see each other for half a year or more after that, but that was a problem for later.

"I hope so," he replied, his smile sad, but the lines of tension in his face eased some. His hand fell back to his side, and his fingers balled into a fist. "Goodnight, Inspector. Thank you for the evening."

She couldn't help but grin at his formality, completely sincere and all the more endearing for it. "Goodnight, Lieutenant. It was… it was nice," was the adjective she decided on. He nodded in agreement, gave her a parting look over his shoulder, and then she watched his face set in its familiar, steady stone as he left the park.

Veta stood there alone, her hands shoved into her hoodie pocket, her mouth wobbling undecided between a smile and a frown, and waited until he was completely out of the atrium before she stepped out of the trees and past their bench.

She squared her shoulders and collected herself. Fred's lifelong, solemn pragmatism about the longevity of pleasurable moments was getting to her, and she needed to shake it off. They would do this again, by the bench and under the trees. She would make sure of it, even if it was just so she could prove him wrong.

Her mouth was still tingling from their parting kiss while she pulled up her comm. The gravel of the trail crunched beneath her shoes as she tapped on Fred's contact. Waypoint's intranet on naval vessels was ridiculously insecure, so she had to actually think about what she said to him before hitting send. A nice change of pace, if nothing else.

_Sleep tight, LT. Pawn to E4._

Veta took the lift down to the crewman's quarters, feeling exhausted as she leaned against the tram's wall. She imagined him doing the same, and smiled at that. It miffed her that she had to exchange warm body heat and on-demand, teenage-dream make-out sessions for a shitty cot and _very _nosy roommates, but at least she wasn't the only one who had to face that reality. It made her feel a little less alone.

She was almost to the door of her team's cabin when she got a response, and pressed her face to her shoulder to hide her ridiculous grin as she read it.

_One of the few things I'm certain you have to do lying down. Knight to F6. Sleep well, Inspector._


End file.
